S’Frisco Gay Rights Veteran Faces Child Porn Charges

A longtime prominent San Francisco gay rights activist faces child porn charges after he turned himself into police on Thursday, San Francisco Weekly reported.

Larry Brinkin, 66, who coined the term "domestic partner" in 1982 after filing the nation’s first domestic partnership lawsuit, was first arrested on June 22 on suspicion of possessing and distributing photos of toddlers having sex with men. But the District Attorney’s Office said there needed to be further investigation.

On Thursday, police said they had secured enough information to bust the activist and charge him with child porn charges. Sgt. Michael Andraychak told SF Weekly that Brinkin actually turned himself in just after the authorities were able to get a $240,000 arrest warrant.

Brinkin was booked on two felony accounts of possession and distributing child porn and was arraigned on Friday.

When police first arrested the activist in June, they received a tip from a "well-respected community leader." The authorities took computers, videos, VHS tapes and a floppy disc from Brinkin’s house.

"The police did further investigation and brought it back to the DA and a warrant was signed," Andraychak said.

In 2010, the activist retired from the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and has been a prominent member of the LGBT community. San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors even named the first week in February as "Larry Brinkin Week."

A judge has ordered a gay San Francisco man who’s been accused of having sex with minors he met through Craigslist, possession of child pornography, and other crimes to stand trial on most of the charges.

Forty gay couples in South Dakota applied to be married during the first month following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized such unions across the country, according to data provided by the state Department of Health.